(previous) decision-making, self-confidence, contraceptive methods, pubertal changes, correct condom use, unsafe abortions, and promotion of gender equality. These youth peer educators also receive training from PPAG. They attend weekly meetings where the information they have learned is reinforced in creative ways such as through debates, dramas etc., and confidence-building activities and public speaking skills are practiced. The peer educators then participate in outreach sessions with their peers, both at their own school and in other nearby schools, which aim to encourage young people to make positive changes to their behavior in order to have a healthy and happy life in the future. In an effort to reach a wider audience, the youth peer educators also perform dramas in the community center and help to coordinate the annual World AIDS Day event.

Through the promotion of gender equality and sexual health knowledge and awareness, using a peer-to-peer education model, we aim to decrease the rate of teenage pregnancy and improve the future reproductive health of the young people in the village. Peer-to-peer education has been shown to be effective in many communities, and is widely used in Ghana as an effective teaching tool in reproductive health education. This is one of the cornerstones of the GHEI youth education program.

Community Health Education Meetings /
One of our most visible programs, the health education meetings are popular with our host communities due to their varied topics and target groups, and engaging forms of message delivery. Since the program’s inception, there has been a shift in emphasis from reproductive health to more general health needs. This occurred through consultation with the community; for example, women asked for more sessions dealing with childhood illnesses, malaria, TB and typhoid, and men expressed concern that they should be provided with education for their own issues. GHEI has responded by providing sessions that provide information on sexually transmitted infections and awareness of the health detriments of drug abuse for young men, and sessions on menopause and heart disease for older women.

The meetings are led by our peer educators, who use drama to attract people to the meetings, making them fun to watch, easy to understand, and therefore good learning/teaching tools. The peer educators are excellent at converting a message into a drama that has the audience participating with cheers and jeers for the characters acted out. The GHEI adult peer educators also regularly (continued)